Doctor Who - 5.12: "The Pandorica Opens" Review

The Doctor receives a message from River all three travel to find the location of the Pandorica, which isn't a fairytale. Rory emerges as a Roman centurion as various enemies of the Doctor descend...

France 1890: Dr Gachet (Howard Lee) attends Vincent Van Gogh (Tony Curran).   Everyone can hear his screams.   He appears to be lamenting at his latest painting.

Cabinet War Rooms, London 1941: Bracewell (Bill Paterson) looks at a painting found in an attic in France.   Churchill can't understand and he's not meant to since it's a message for the Doctor.  (Matt Smith)

Stormcage Containment Facility 5145: The phone rings for River (Alex Kingston) who says she's entitled to phonecalls.  It's Churchill calling as the Doctor's nowhere to be found.   River kisses the guard with her hallucinogenic lipstick again to effect her escape.

The Royal Collection 5145:  River breaks into the collection to steal the painting and Liz 10 (Sophie Okonedo) tells River she's the Queen, but River needs to find the Doctor.

The Maldovarium 5145: River buys a time manipulator from the blue man, Dorium Maldovar (Simon Fisher-Becker) also seen in season 6.7 A Good Man Goes to War.

Amy (Karen Gillan) looks at the ring at Planet 1.  The Doctor tells her there's a message from the dawn of time at the cliff, it's never been translated but the TARDIS can do it.   The message says, "Hello Sweetie." With co-ordinates below it.   They land to see the Roman invasion, which Amy used to call the "Invasion of the hot Italians." A centurion thinks the Doctor is Caesar as River is Cleopatra.   The painting depicts the TARDIS exploding.   River believes it's a warning.   Date and map reference on the door.   The title of the painting is "The Pandorica Opens."  It was "built to contain the most feared thing in all the universe."   The Doctor still calls it a fairytale as in the season 5 Flesh and Stone episode.   The Doctor wants to remember where the most dangerous thing in all of the universe is buried.   At Stone Henge.

River mentions "Spoilers" when Amy recalls River said the mighty warrior in history will be guarding it.   They have to get underground.   Doctor: "The Underhenge."  A Cyberman's head is nearby.   River says it's "more than just a fairytale."  A Cyberman's hand is below.   Doctor: "There was a goblin or a trickster, a warrior, a nameless terrible thing soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies, the most feared thing in all the cosmos - nothing could stop it; reason with it; one day it would drop out of the sky and tear down your world."  It was tricked by a good wizard and River hates good wizards.   They always "turn out to be him."  Referring to the Doctor.   There were apparent clues in what the Doctor has just said if looked at and it comes down to him, the Doctor himself.   Since what drops out of the sky: the TARDIS and he goes to different worlds and planets attempting to put things right and help.   SO he would be the most feared in all the universe.   (See 6.7 A Good Man Goes to War) kind of in the wrong order to say this here, but that's what River said about the Doctor; that he's feared by everyone.)

Amy's favourite story was Pandora's Box.   Doctor: "Never ignore a coincidence unless you're busy, in which case, always ignore a coincidence." River says the Pandorica is being opened from the inside.   Amy asks how Vincent Van Gogh new about the Pandorica.   The Doctor talks of stories, broadcasting its opening, but why doesn't the Doctor know about it.   Again cos it was built to contain him.   Everyone's coming, there are starships around the planet.   The Daleks can be heard and the Doctor says they've got surprise on their side, but have they really.   River tells him everything that hates him is here, again another clue.   This is the one time the Doctor must run.   He asks where.   Think maybe he should have listened to her this time round, but as he says where would he run to, they'll always find him, so as he says, "this ends here; this ends now."  Well kind of here and now.   The Doctor thinks of  the Romans, the greatest military machine and thinks they can help.  His mistake.

River goes back and zaps away the Roman commander's cupboard.   There is a man and he needs their help tonight, well could have done without the Romans with hindsight.   River has a volunteer in the shadows.   Forcefield energy inside the box will buy them more time.   (The box refers to the Pandorica.)  So the title does make sense, since it was a play on Pandora's Box which contained the worst evils ever and was opened when it shouldn't have been, reversed here to contain the Doctor, who isn't the worst evil ever, but is perceived to be to other races and species.

Amy asks if the Doctor is proposing to someone.   Doctor: "A memory, a friend of mine, somehow lost."  People fall out of the world, but always leave traces...nothing is ever forgotten...and if if something can be remembered it can come back." Just like the Doctor (final episode.)  The Doctor was lying, he took Amy away from her house since it had too many rooms.   Doctor: "Does it bother you Amy your life never really makes sense."

The Cyber arm grabs the Doctor and he gets zapped and Amy is grabbed by the wires of the Cyber head.  Firing a dart into her.   Then the Cyberman body arrives.   The Cyberman is destroyed by a sword.   Amy faints when she sees Rory (Arthur Darvill) as a Roman centurion, he was River's volunteer.   The Doctor isn't surprised at Rory turning up.  "I'm not exactly one to miss the obvious" he says.   He gets it in a minute and pokes Rory.   He died and was erased from time.   The Doctor wonders how he's here.   Rory asks if Amy missed him, but there's no time to answer: the Pandorica opens.

The Doctor needs his TARDIS and makes an announcement: "Whoever takes the Pandorica, takes the universe."  the Doctor doesn't have anything to lose, he stopped them and they should do the smart thing: "let somebody else try first."  The TARDIS refuses to move.   Rory has to be brave.   Amy doesn't remember him.

The Doctor speaks of cracks and how there'll be an explosion one day.   Rory asks what exploded.  Flashes to the TARDIS and the date 26/6/2010: the base code of the universe.   Rory shouldn't be here.   He was here - a proper Roman soldier, like he woke from a dream.   The men in the camp spoke about a girl with red hair.   Doctor: "Oh shut up - go get her."  Rory's here because he is, impossible things happen - miracles.   He gives Rory the ring.

Location: Earth.  26/6/2010.   A voice in the TARDIS is heard to say "Silence will fall." The TARDIS lands at Amy's house.  River: "Oh Doctor why do I let you out." She finds a book on Roman Britain, Pandora's Box book and  River realizes the Romans aren't real.   They're in picture books.   Roranicus is short for Rory.   Amy cries.

The Doctor says something is using Amy's memories.   River's lipstick worked on the Romans.   He finally realizes this is a perfect disguise.   Rory pleads for Amy to remember him.   River calls it  a trap.   Amy was used to get close to the Doctor.   Something is controlling the TARDIS.   The Doctor mentions the date and River needs to get out.   Amy doesn't know Rory but she's crying cos she remembers him.   River can stop the cracks from forming if she can land the TARDIS.   The Pandorica opens.   The Roman's arms extend out as weapons, as does Rory's, he'll kill Amy, she has to go.   Amy recalls Rory.   The TARDIS doors don't open.

The Doctor says the Nestene Consciousness drives the Roman duplicates.   The Daleks arrive (the Fruit Pastille ones.)  Rory shows Amy the ring.   Dalek: "You have been scanned."  The Sontaran says the Pandorica is ready for the Doctor.   Rory shoots Amy.  The Doctor is dragged to the Pandorica, as River struggles with the TARDIS.   The Doctor realizes they're working together, an alliance.   The Dalek refers to the "cracks in the skin of the universe."  The Sontaran tells him they'll save the universe from the Doctor.   The Doctor tries to tell them they'll destroy the universe.   The Doctor couldn't resist the trap and is responsible for the cracks.   The Doctor exclaims the whole universe never existed.   He's the only one who can stop the TARDIS exploding.   River: "I'm sorry my love..."

What an explosive episode.  Certain hardened fans and seasoned viewers must have relished the Doctor being led away into the Pandorica, somewhere he didn't want to be, signifying the end of the universe.   Normally he has to make such decisions, "choices" to use his word and it almost always ain't pleasant!  Should have realized it was a trap a long time ago - why would Romans talk of Amy, they've never seen her.   The Doctor falling into the trap of the Romans being able to help and an obvious danger sign was Rory saying he felt like he'd woken from a dream.   As well as the Doctor's line of 'whoever takes the Pandorica, takes the universe'; ironic when you think of what's to come.

The TARDIS in the vortex from the opening and end credits of the show is actually featured in this episode as it heads for Amy's house, from 5.1.   In Flesh and Stone, River and the Doctor thought the Pandorica was a fairytale and they're proven wrong here, but not River, as she must've known otherwise, since this episode and what happens to the Doctor here has taken place for her already.   As in The Time of Angels and Flesh and Stone episodes, since she recalls it there.

River uses her hallucinogenic lipstick again to escape her cell this time and uses "hello Sweetie" here as well as in The Time of Angels and when the Doctor met her for the first time in Silence in the Library.  Everytime I mention this episode, it always reminds me of The Silence for some reason.

Liz 10 owned the painting depicting the TARDIS exploding, but no one managed to warn the Doctor, they can't get hold of him; only River does with the time manipulator.

River portrays Cleopatra alluding to the episode The Girl in the Fireplace, where Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke) comments the Doctor had to have known Cleopatra intimately (same was said about the Doctor and Elizabeth I) since he referred to her as "Cleo."  What is it with the Doctor and queens.  Love this photo it's as if the Doctor is egging them on to come get him, "top of the world..." He's invincible.

Supernatural - 6.15: "The French Mistake" Review

The most talked about meta episode, played purely for laughs, with lots of in jokes and Jared's wife, as well as the all important angel vs angel war.

Bobby's on a supply run when Balthazar (Sebastian Roche) arrives.   He's seen the Godfather movie.   Balthazar is big on movies isn't he? Just like Dean (Jensen Ackles) in a way.  They wanted Dean to be the meat suit for the wrong angel, me thinks, last season.   He draws a symbol on the window.   Raphael's after him, which is no big thing.   He's after everyone if you think about it, but let's not.   Oh oops, he says that too.   Cas (Misha Collins) is underground and wants to draw Cas out into the open.   Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean go hurtling through the window into an alternate reality, of sorts.

Balthazar manages to give Sam a key before they leave, as Virgil (Carlos Sanz) comes after Balthazar.   Surprise, surprise Sam and Dean end up on a TV show, the filming of Supernatural.   Bobby singer (Brian Doyle Murphy) thinks the window part was good and Kevin (Jason Bryden) wants to freeze frame them.   Sam asks the all important question of who Jared and Jensen are.  Jensen/Dean gets his make-up removed.   Dean: "I'm a painted whore."  Jared/Sam is interviewed as the TV show is mentioned he thinks of the Twilight Zone.   Their lives are a TV show.   Not many watch the show.   Sam tells Dean, "You're a Jensen Ackles and I'm something called a Jared Padalecki."  Dean: "Polish."  Dean's relieved to see his baby made it here.   Yeah all of them!

Dean: "This whole place is bad touching me."  Always come up with such a line for Dean, last time it was having to take rape shower.   Dean prays for Cas and he turns up.   Cas comments on the alternate reality.   A bit like Bizarro Superman Dean says and Cas asks for the key.   It's for the room where Balthazar keeps his weapons stash.   Dean: "Amen Padaleski." Sam: "Lecki." Cas reads from the script.   His name is Misha.   Dean: "Misha, Jensen, what's with the names around here."  Don't forget, Padaleski. Sam and Dean walk away and Cas/Misha Tweets he's just been pranked and he feels like one of them now.

They head to fake Dean's trailer and Sam asks who has a fish tank in a trailer.   Dean: "apparently Jensen Ackles."  Yeah it's easier to feed the fish!  He also has a helicopter.   Dean "Look at these male modelling SOBs - that's a great Blue Steel Sam." Jensen poking fun at his modelling days of long ago, ha.   Then he mentions Blue Steel again as he did in season 2.7 The Usual Suspects episode when he got his mugshot taken, picking up a copy of the official magazine.   Okay product placement, no need to rub it in.   Hey I never got my book in!!  Sam and Dean feature on the TV set.  

Sam reads Jensen's from Texas and was on a soap opera, there's a clip on the Internet.   Again Jensen will always get a mention  wherever he ends up of his time on Days of Our Lives.   The phone's out of soul range.   Sam and Dean on the TV in the background was funny and Sam winks on screen.   Dean thinks if they can get to a window and draw the symbols they can return home.   He says everything's fake.

Bobby Singer, the producer is astonished Jared and Jensen are talking to each other (yeah as if they really don't!)  Dean drives a prop car and their driver, Cliff, drops them off at Jared's house. "We're not even in America."  Cue mansion.   Sam: "I must be the star of this thing." Dean: "What am I Dracula?...George Hamilton Dracula."  Meaning Dracula with a tan, cos George Hamilton always has a tan!  Dean wonders what a camel is doing in the back.   Genevieve (Genevieve Padalecki) calls it an alpaca.   It's Ruby and she and Jared are married.   Looking at the photo of Jared and Genevieve.   Dean: "You married fake Ruby." Jensen's never been there and she's glad they're talking.   Dean comments he did all right.   Sam thinks he should work out her name.   Funny Sam didn't Google himself but he did Jensen.   Yet Sam had no qualms about spending the night with another man's wife and he has his soul back too!!

They order the things they need from the Internet and Jared has a poker table, seeing as he's into poker, Texas Hold Em.   So is Jensen.   Sam asks about disasters and earthquake spike.   Genevieve recalls those from season 5 of the show.   Sam and Dean pick up the package before it clears customs.   Dean wants the set to be cleared but Bobby refuses.   Commenting Dean Cain used to collaborate on Lois and Clark and he was a real actor.   Meaning Jared and Jensen are just fads.   Sam bought part of a dead person.   Dean knows they'll have to do some 'acting' - on the same scene over and over.   What on earth was Sam doing with his arms in that scene?  He looked so darn hilarious.    That's called emoting.   Dean suggests Sam doesn't look at the camera.   Dean's line about the gun in his mouth was rather insensitive.

Bobby calls Sera Gamble.   Sam and Dean crash through the window but are still on the set.   Sam thinks the spell can't work, there was no sign of the apocalypse.   All the creatures are pretend and there aren't any hunters.   The set looked like the one from season 5's Changing Channels in this scene and Virgil manages to get through and has no power here either.   So Sam and Dean fight him and Virgil takes the key from Sam's pocket.   Since season 3 Sam is forever having things stolen from that pocket of his and he never zips it up.   In season 3.3 Bad Day at Black Rock it was Bela stealing the rabbit's paw from him and now the key.

Sera suggests she should fly up there, but Jared and Jensen don't know who she is, they need Eric Kripke instead, but she's meant to be running this.   Eric has sold his other show, Octocobra.   Misha Tweets again when he gets in his car about having the feeling someone is in the back of his car.   So why doesn't have his own driver, cos he's not as big a star as Jared and Jensen ha.   It's Virgil.   Bobby asks if they want more money.   Dean: "You already pay those jokers enough as it is."  How does he know, he's only seen Jared's pad not his payslip.   He then asks who names a character after himself, i.e.  Bobby Singer.   Sam realizes the key's gone.

Dean posits they're not actors but hunters - Winchesters and where they're from no one knows who they are.   He calls Sam his brother.   Dean: "We quit."  Misha gets knifed in an ally by Virgil and what a sad and lonely way to go.   Genevieve breaks the news about Misha.   A tramp in the ally tells them about Raphael and he heard a voice answering.   They need to return to the time and place of the crossing.   Dean pays him with Canadian money (where'd that come from?)   Virgil steals some guns.   He's the weapons keeper of heaven.   They need to get back home, their friends are there.   Sam tells him they're not even brothers here.

Eric arrives and is shot as is Bobby.   Perhaps someone wanted to make a statement about where the show is heading!  Sera perhaps, ha.     Oh wait she's meant to be running it, exactly.   When Dean is fighting, Sam resorts to using the door.   The symbol on the window appears and they get through to see Raphael (Lanette Ware) as a woman.   Dean: "Dude looks like a lady."  Had to get that in.   Balthazar didn't give Sam the real key and he needed time to find the weapons and remove them, so they were distractions.   Cas turns up and he has the weapons now.   He takes Sam and Dean home.   Cas knew of Balthazar's plan and he'd have done the same.   Dean says they're broke.   Sam: "At least we're talking."

So what did you make of this episode?   Supernatural does have its tongue- in-cheek moments and surreal episodes, even, sometimes but this was an interesting meta episode and many fans enjoyed it, but the opinions were divided.   Seeing as many of the jokes about Jensen and Jared had been done before.

"If there's a key, then there has to be a lock," could in some ways sum up this episode.   If there's a Supernatural, there must be a send-up, jokey episode.   There's nothing wrong with acting in one's self parody of oneself.   Not much to say in terms of reviewing this episode - maybe I should have Tweeted like Misha.   No stone was left unturned by the end of this one and Supernatural fans will know the references verbatim.   If anyone was watching for the first time they'd think the show bonkers and never return,   unless they're into self-effacing mockery.   Sam and Dean talking to each other, well that should be Jared and Jensen talking to each other. Who came up with that one?   At least Cas got his weapons and Raphael picked up the body of a chick!  Now if that ain't funny.

The alternative world: so boring - everything was perfect, no evil until Virgil got there and proceeded to massacre the production team.   It just got to signify how tedious an actor's life is (!)  The episode being filmed in the alternate world is entitled Echo for obvious reasons.   Misha actually sent a Tweet to his followers, "Hola, Mishamigos.   J squared got me good.   Really starting to feel like one of the guys." This was also sent by the real Misha.

This title was from Blazing Saddles (1974) where the fight scene in the Western is actually a film set and a choir sings a song entitled, The French Mistake.   Still there was an underlying theme here, crucial to the season arc, so they didn't just have Sam and Dean pottering around a film set willy nilly or for the fun of it.   Though that was an added bonus.   No, it was to scare them into realizing there are worlds; realities out there which really are this frightening and "douche-induced."   Oh and the scenes where the dudes have their heart-to-heart scenes on or in the Impala can never be cut!

Note the cowboy pic over Jared's head/ Sam's head for future reference.   Also the tramp telling them, "The scary man killed the attractive crying man."  A bit of a niggle, there was no supernatural element in this reality and yet Virgil was able to kill Misha and get a message through to Raphael, yet none of their symbols worked when Sam and Dean tried to get back home.

Castle - 2.1: "Deep in Death" Review

Castle is still in Beckett's bad books for going behind her back and has to let him work on the new case cos it's great publicity for the NYPD.

Castle (Nathan Fillion) is on a photoshoot at the police department with some chicks dressed in uniforms. Why the police station? Just cos it's about Niki Heat and Beckett (Stana Katic) has to give an interview to Amy (Elizabeth Ho), 'Cosmo', as she calls her the inspiration behind Castle's new book.   Castle claims to have offered them insight on the profession and solved some of their toughest cases.   Well that's true as seen from my season 1 reviews.   She tells the Captain (Reuben Santiago-Hudson) she wants him gone and calls them 'bachelor party strippers.'  Captain agrees Castle has helped on cases and the mayor wants him here, also it's hard to get good press for the department.

Esposito (Jon Huertas) asks why Beckett doesn't wear a uniform like that.   Er she's not a uniformed cop anymore ha.     Beckett is still angry Castle delved into her mother's death when she asked him not to.   He suggests he should buy her a pony.   Hey Lisbon (Robin Tunney) wanted a pony too when she was little.  This case involves a DB found in a tree.  Castle: "It's raining men."  Lanie (Tamala Jones) complains of being stuck up there and Esposito says she could be wearing a skirt.   She'll smack him when she's down, which she didn't do.   The DB's named John Allen and Beckett and Castle both say it's not suicide at the same time.  Castle surmises he was thrown off the building.  He was strangled and then Castle explains what ligature means to Amy.   Would have thought she'd be up on that as she's conducting an interview, but clearly that's beyond her scope and the interview.

Beckett gets Castle and Amy to ride in the morgue van together, which is hijacked and the DB stolen.   Castle has the opportunity to explain to Lanie what he found before that happens.   Three others were killed like Beckett's mother, a law student she taught, a documents clerk and a lawyer.   The ME also died four years ago.   They wonder who'd want to steal a DB which is obvious, either whoever killed him or someone was looking for something.   Castle comes up with a spy angle.   Castle can't go home, he's a witness.   Ryan (Seamus Dever) loses bet about Beckett not taking Castle back.

John's wife, Sandy (Lauren Holloman) doesn't want questions she just wants to know why he's dead.   Castle asks if he received late night calls, which he did, from Max whom he fired.   Beckett stands away from Castle in the lift.   Alexis (Molly Quinn) tells him Beckett called to let them know he was okay and she left messages for him, one asking if she could go see Fame with Owen.   She's lad he wasn't taken by body snatchers.   Martha (Susan Sullivan) asks if he has a plan B and what Hollywood is coming to with all these movies.

Max (David Bowe) tells them they were both fired and John didn't have a job.   The DB is found again and a bloody glove is found too.   He was operated on.   Castle: "Somebody hated his guts."  He was a drug mule and Castle wonders how he became one.  Lanie finds he was strangled with both hands and one of the marks is faint.   Castle suggests he didn't use his pinky.   Castle also wonders how he got the job as a drug mule.   Beckett suggests they dust inside the glove, oh come on that should have been obvious and why didn't Lanie think of it.   Beckett isn't that good a cop.   Castle ask Lanie if she should put on some music, like they do on CSI.   Actually the music is played over the scene, no one in the lab actually listens to music on full blast.   That music playing reminds Castle of porn, well he had to get that in.

The print from the glove belongs to Luthor and they all want to make a deal.   John didn't show up and so they went looking for him as he had their drugs.   Beckett wants to know who vouched for him.   That was Ron (Robert Gant) and he asks Castle if he writes plays.   He introduced John and he gambled in Chinatown, losing more than he had.   He owed a Russian mobster with a tattoo.  Castle wants to go in after talking with his writer buds, Stephen Cannell and Michael Connolly.   A button cam is placed on Castle's shirt and he goes in wired for sound and images but can't hear them.   Naturally there'd be more than one Russian poker player.   Esposito adds give someone a gadget and he thinks he's Bond.   Ryan wants to know why he's repeating everything they can hear him say.

Castle sits in on a poker game and tells them he's writing a book, giving details about the case and riles one up.   Beckett notices him playing with his pinky which is prosthetic and that's why there weren't any prints from it.   Beckett spent one semester in Kiev and knows Russian.   Beckett puts on her jumper, removing her pants and goes in to save Castle.   Castle notices she's changed.  Well that was easy.   Now we know why she's always wearing heels.

Castle thanks her for saving him and they make a good team.   Like Starsky and Hutch (so who's who, ha) Tango and Cash, Turner and Hooch.   He reminds Beckett of Hooch.   Castle tells her she's afraid of looking for the killer, but she has him this time.  Beckett replies she may not want to know and maybe she's not ready.   Castle goes home and writes again.   Alexis asks why boys are such losers and why do they have to justify things instead of just admitting they're sorry.   Giving him yet another idea of how to get into Beckett's good books.   Castle apologizes to her.   She'll see him tomorrow.   He could have just made it up and he could have just fallen for it.   Not that he would really do something like that, but you never can tell sometimes, especially when there's something in it for him and if he apologizes then he can get to spend more time with her and also eventually get to work on her mother's case.

Good to see the episode pick up from season 1 when Beckett found about about Castle going behind her back.   That she still holds a grudge against him for not leaving her mother's murder to rest.   It was personal for her and he just ignored her wishes.  She thinks he'll be out of her hair now, but the photoshoot and then the mayor wanting the article and publicity for the NYPD all conspire against her to keep him around.   Anyway they had to find some reason for Castle sticking around in the NYPD fold.  

Though did think it a little naive, if that's the right word, for Beckett to continue to work with Castle cos he said sorry; even if that was Alexis's idea.   So he'd be up a creek without a paddle without Alexis around.   Castle mentions Ryan Reynolds being in the movie of the video game, Asteroids, he and Nathan were in Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza.

In 1.20 Red Sauce episode of The Mentalist, Lisbon finds a pony waiting for her on her birthday, courtesy of Patrick (Simon Baker).   Here Castle mentioned getting a pony for Beckett twice.   Patrick also encountered a Russian mobster in 1.13 Paint it Red, though no tattoos around that we know of.

CSI - 12.06: "Freaks and Geeks" Review

This case involves the death of a woman working as a human candleabra in a carnival. Suspects are plenty but it's not always those who are the most obvious that the CSIs need to be the most weary of.

The scene opens with a woman being forcibly tied to a chair and needles being inserted into her arms.  Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) and DB (Ted Danson) arrive at a CS where this same woman has been found.  Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois) helps Catherine process the Vic, as they remove needles and a skewer from her body.  Morgan notices black wax on the skewer.  Doc Robbins (Robert David Hall) finds scars on the Vic which were formed when needles were repeatedly stuck into her.  There was also lidocaine in her system.  Doc also discovers a knee implant which DB says will give them her name: Rachel Grier (Jenny Parsinen).

Rachel's sister, Jennifer (Suzanne Cryer) is a doctor and Catherine questions her.  Silvia, (Skylar Day) Jennifer's daughter spoke with Rachel a few days ago.  Hodges (Wallace Langham) scrapes away at the tarp in which the body was found, beneath which a painting is discovered after Nick (George Eads) takes over from Hodges.  He converses in Italian and then says something Nick hopes wasn't anything bad.  The painted woman looks similar to Rachel and has flames in the same position the needles were stuck in her arms.  Hodges describes her as a human candleabra which Morgan searches on the Net; coming up with Major Willie's Rambling Carnival and Curious Abravaganza.  Rachel was the 'Magnificanet Femmistophles.'

Willie (Kevin McNally) isn't surprised she's dead.  Rachel was killed wirth propofol so she suffocated.  DB speaks French again.  Nick and DB process her tent, finding traces of blood and semen in her bed.  The blood reveals she was pregnant.  Catherine checks out Elephant Man, Joshua Helm. (Paul Hodge)  The semen in the blood belongs to him.  He suffers from Proteus Syndrome and he and Rachel were going to leave the carnival, but Rachel lost the baby and he didn't want another.

Willie is brought in for questioning and he proceeds to swallow a paperclip after inserting it into his arm.  Willie refers to himself as a geek - he honed his talents, as did Rachel.  Freaks are those who have natural abilities. DB gives him a paperclip for the road.  Willie is later found hanging and Silvia is caught escaping from his tent.  She discovered his DB and ran.  Doc gives Greg (Eric Szmanda) and Nick the contents of Willie's stomach to analyze since he practically swallowed anything and everything.  His stomach was punctured from the inside.  A nipple is found with the ring still attached, which has the Zodiac sign, Gemini and leads to the strongman, Sergio.  You know what they say about the quiet ones. In this case, strong and silent was guilty.

Greg takes photos of all the men and their nipples and Sergio wears a bandage.  His nipple is missing.  His name is Seth (Tug Coker) and he's Joshua's brother.  He helped Willie cover up Rachel's death and he thought he'd killed her, so a scuffle ensued and Willie bit his nipple.  Seth then pushed Willie whilst he was swallowing a sword.  Seth coughs up a bottle of propofol and this leads to Jennifer as the killer.  Of course it had to be someone with access to the medication since it wasn't found at the carnival.  Also in the beginning she didn't show any emotion when Catherine informed her of Rachel's death.  Even if they were estranged they were still family, which should have garnered some reaction.

Jennifer wanted to keep Silvia away from the freaks and was protecting her "from the monsters of this world," at which point I commented just like Jennifer was a monster and then Catherine called her a monster too.  DB thinks Willie was guilty cos his own parents were with a travelling show and made their escape one night.  Catherine thinks it's Joshua cos Rachel left him and he couldn't walk away from the only refuge in his life. Seth being the one who took this away from him and the others when he killed Willie.  All three: DB, Catherine and Seth made the wrong asumptions here as to who was the true culprit.  Dangerous assumptions for DB and Catherine to make in their line of work, particularly since the evidence wasn't even in.

DB met his wife at college and she was his "first and only love" whereas Catherine regrets her 'fling' when she was 16 at the 'Missile Base' where Rachel was dumped.  Not something she's told anyone else.  Sara (Jorga Fox) was missing this episode and Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) only got one scene.

CSI: NY season 1 episode Blood, Sweat and Tears featured a circus, where the contortionist died and this time it really was love since he had made a suicide pact witht the girl he loved, akin to Romeo and Juliet and she didn't go through with  it.  He suffered from Ehlers Danlose Syndrome for which there is no cure.  Also CSI: NY  1.11 Triborough had paint chips to be analyzed.  CSI: Miami  season 8 episode, Dude Where's My Groom? had a painting revealed within a painting.

CSI  usually comes up with these human interest episodes which will appeal to most.  6.11 of the show, Werewolves, dealt with Hypertrichosis Syndrome where Catherine was once again involved in investigating.

Lie To Me - 1.8: "Depraved Heart" Review

Cal stumbles upon a case which brings up his past and in a roundabout way, Eli also works on a case which brings out his feelings of outrage and disgust at the wealthy being able to avoid justice.

A girl jumps from a bridge in the night.   Next day, Cal (Tim Roth) talks with Emily ( Hayley McFarland) in the car and happens to pass the same bridge, getting stuck in traffic.   Of course being Cal, he has to be curious and talks with a policeman, who from his gestures and evasion concludes there was a suicide.   He notices Gail (Megan Dodds) from the US Attorney's office who used to work with his ex wife.   She tells him the girl also had a sister who committed suicide a few days earlier.   He's not deterred and can't stop himself from getting involved.   Emily asking him that he used to study suicides.   He still does.   Cal talks with Arun (Sunkrish Bala) the sisters' brother and mother.   Cal still recalls some Hindi and their mother, who is beside herself asks why they did this?

Arun says his sisters stayed on in the US and used to send money home - leading Cal to stow away in his office and watch an old film on a projector about a woman who is in therapy.  Well it could only be Cal's mother - as she mentions wanting to go home to her children.   Also this episode follows from the last one where he briefly talked about his mother, more so that his best friend, Jeffrey, was there for him when she died.   (Similar to the season 1 episode Unchained and Ria's (Monica Raymund) own experiences with her abusive father, making her a natural at reading people.)  Here in much the same way, Cal's mother's suicide framed who he is and what he does, causing him to study "micro-expressions" (tell-tale signs of trouble.)  Naturally, Ria opens his office door and catches a glimpse of the footage.   Being a natural, she knows Cal is affected in some way by this.

Cal needs to find out why they killed themselves.   From photos, both the girls displayed shame.   The girls were here on a travel visa and stayed, so he and Ria pay a visit to immigration officer, Mike Personick (Kirk BW Woller) who states he can't help.   (Note his job and that's why he could have been the only one involved in this.)  Cal finds out his wife's name is Beth and threatens to tell her he's been cheating as clearly Mike is lying.   He finally relents telling them the sisters were working at an Indian strip club.   He visited the club when he was meant to be working.   That he lied once, makes him a more viable suspect.

The club owner, Patel (Anjul Nigam) was filming the girls there, as Cal finds a secret camera wired to an Internet feed.   This was seen in India and by Arun.   They shamed their father but he resolved to unite the family.   Another Indian girl is reported to have committed suicide by jumping in front of a train.   Cal needs Gillian (Kelli Williams) but she's not around and he is dismayed over this.   She being the only one he can talk to and vice versa.    You can hear the desperation in his voice and it's clear the two share more than just a working relationship and know more about each other's personal lives than they let on.   Cal notices marks on the girl's face and marks these on her photo.

Gillian is working with Eli (Brendan Hines) on locating the money hidden away by Joseph Hollin, (Daniel Benzali) stolen from investors.   Brought onto the case by the SEC, he refuses to speak and is terminally ill.   His daughter, Carolyn (Mandy Jane Turpin) wants them to leave.   Eli is very hostile towards her and hates the way they are able to get away with their crime.   Gillian has to reprimand Eli over his attitude and doesn't allow him to her a second time.   Gillian realizes she is the one who stole the money and she wants it returned to the investors.   Eli wants her brought to book.   Hollin agrees to give up the money if he can take the fall for his daughter.   Gillian agrees as the investors will receive their money but Eli is disgusted.   The SEC calls Gillian to tell her they no longer require her services and they have arrested Carolyn.  

Gillian is furious and is adamant Eli turned her in as he was the only one privy to this info.   Gillian has no choice but to believe him when he denies it was him, or does she?  Eli admits the truth to Ria and she doesn't want to know, she's the only one he trusts (just as Cal trusts Gillian.)  She asks how he pulled off lying and he tells her he used a sedative.   Ria should've known this since Cal did the same for the army woman in 1.2 Moral Waiver, when she passed her polygraph, so should Gillian.   Eli tells Ria about Louise Mason, the woman on the footage.   She killed herself after she was released and this led to Cal discovering 'micro expressions'.   When he slowed down the tape, he could see the agony on her face.   Gillian catches up with Cal, but it's too late now, he doesn't need her anymore.

Emily brings Cal dinner and recalls a girl in one of her classes who killed herself.   Cal says she shouldn't think about these things - but about celibacy.   Ria confronts Gillian about Louise - but just as Cal is abrupt with Ria when she brings up his lying over Alex cheating on Gillian, she acts in the same way. "Just because you see everything, doesn't men you understand it."  Could that be a subtle reference to her own personal life.   Cal shows Ria the tape and she notices the pain in Louise.   Then apologizes.   He replies she shouldn't be sorry  for what she sees.   Ugh, something completely different to Gillian.   Ria would have picked up on this despair in Louise, even back then.   This also affects him, cos if this was known back then and if Ria was around then she'd have been able to save Louise, or any natural like Ria.

The marks from the girl's face were a result of pregnancy and she gave birth to a baby.   All three were working as surrogates.   On a raid several pregnant women are discovered and one of them, Kiran (Kosha Patel) IDs Mike.   He was meant to pay them but he kept the money for room and food.   If he knew she was going to kill herself and did nothing then he can be charged with 'depraved heart.'  Cal knows he's lying but that won't stand up in court.   A call was made from her phone and so Cal brings in a man claiming to be her father.  Speaking in Hindu throughout, he demands to know if he's the bastard who killed his daughter.   He knows she called him asking for help and Mike did nothing.   Knew that wasn't really her father (a ploy used in many shows including NCIS season 2.7 Call of Silence when Gibbs (Mark Harmon) got the man from his Japanese restaurant to play a Japanese soldier at Iowa Jima.)  Mike confesses she did call him and is charged.

Cal shows Emily the tape and she recognizes her grandmother (that was obvious).   He begins to tell the details - which we don't get, but it's something Cal realizes he finally needs to do.   Many similarities between Cal and Eli here, in that both of them strive for justice.   Cal appears to do it for the right reasons though.   Eli seems to be geared more to putting Carolyn behind bars to the detriment of those investors who lost out.   Yet Eli too seems to have a much deeper reason for his contempt towards her, more personal; but we don't know that cos we can't have two reveals in the same episode.

Think this was the best episode so far this season with plenty of character development, getting to see what motivates Cal and how/why he came to do this sort of work.   Also why he is envious of Ria and her natural abilities.   Eli appears to have some sort of a personal reason for this too.   Gillian doesn't seem to know he lied - but perhaps Ria would have noticed as she did in episode 1.6 Do No Harm when he lied about his feelings for Farida.  Ooh irony, with some hypocrisy, Eli can lie and yet he's there to investigate and root out others lies.   This episode also answered Ria's question of what motivates Cal to do this work, or rather who.   But she doesn't know that's his mother.

Gillian: "Okay."
Eli: "Okay you believe me or okay I'm not showing any signs of lying?"  He had to be sure of this and yet he almost gives himself away when he says he's not showing any sings of lying.
Gillian: "The worst lies we tell out of love but I'd want my family to learn from their mistake."  Something Ria said about Eli when he lied in that episode.   Was this an allusion to Alex on her part?

The Vampire Diaries - 3.9: "Homecoming" Review

As the Homecoming dance draws near, Rebekah is eager to attend. Stefan lures Klaus back on the pretext of Mikael's death and everyone's set plans go awry.

Stefan (Paul Wesley) calls Klaus (Joseph Morgan) to inform him Mikael's (Sebastian Roche) dead, well he's been "daggered." One hour earlier:  They need to get their stories straight so Klaus will believe Stefan.   Mikael followed Elena (Nina Dobrev) into the house and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) vervained him.   Elena says Klaus will want proof.   Mikael adds Klaus will be dead by then, he'll be lured here and killed.   Mikael has the stake from the oak tree, a vampire can't dagger an original without dying, so it's up to Elena to kill Mikael.   Klaus wants to see Mikael's DB, just as Mikael said he would.

Klaus tells Stefan he can't lie cos of his compulsion and Stefan tells him he saw Mikael die with his own eyes.   Rebekah (Claire Holt) is also there and tells Klaus she saw it too.   Klaus's coming home for homecoming!  Damon thinks that was easy.   Elena pulls the dagger out of Mikael.   Rebekah tells Mikael nothing he says matters to her.   Mikael isn't after her.   Klaus killed their mother and she tells him they weren't killers and he turned them, he destroyed their family, not Klaus.

Caroline (Candice Accola) wants Elena and Bonnie (Kat Graham) at their homecoming and Bonnie thinks that's fine for her cos she has a date.   Elena wants Bonnie to talk about Jeremy, but Bonnie adds Elena shouldn't be angry at Jeremy.   Damon gets ready the wolfsbane grenades and has a secret plan. "Well if I told you, it wouldn't be a secret."  Stefan needs a tie for the dance , he has to protect her or Elena will probably get herself killed by the homecoming queen.   Stefan is cynical about their plan cos his freedom rests on them, adding their plans fail cos their humanity gets in the way.

Tyler (Michael Trevino) wants a "real bite" and there's plenty of people about to feed on.   Caroline doesn't want him hanging with Rebekah.   Matt (Zach Roerig) is Rebekah's date and he's drinking vervain so she can't feed on him.   Tyler still harping on about Rebekah being hot.   Rebekah tells Elena this is her first dance since they were always running.   Rebekah warns Mikael can't be trusted, "no one in my family can." Well she just gives herself away there, she can't be trusted to stand by and watch Klaus being killed either.   She's spent her whole life loving and hating Klaus and didn't think she'd be the one to help kill him.   Oh yeah, probably she'd do a backflip like Elijah to save him cos he'd talk her into it.   Elena gives Rebekah her mother's necklace to wear and then stabs her in the back, literally and metaphorically.   Lots of that going around this episode.

Damon refers to that as "very Katherine of you." Elena cares too much and Damon says she's not really dead.   Damon doesn't trust Mikael or Stefan, so with so many trust issues it's a wonder their plan will work, or will it, judging on past experience.   He doesn't want Elena to be a part of any of it and of she trusts Damon then she has nothing to worry about.   Tyler brings the party to his place after the school gym is flooded, no surprises for guessing who was behind that.   Tyler is doing what Klaus wants: throwing a wake.   He's been planning Mikael's funeral for a thousand years and wants to reunite his family now.   Stefan doesn't know where Rebekah is .   Stefan wants his freedom but he'll only get that when Mikael is dead and the weapon is destroyed.

Damon asks why Mikael feeds on vampires.   Reply: bloodlust wasn't Mikael's intention, he feeds on the predators not the innocent, oh so that's why he slaughtered innocents from his village.   Damon has a plan which doesn't involve Stefan and Mikael bites him.   Damon: "You couldn't just break his neck." Klaus has invited his own friends to the party, a bloodline of werewolves intent on  serving their master.   Tyler warns Caroline that Klaus knows what they're up to.   Caroline denies nothing and even if she did, she wouldn't tell him.   Tyler injects her.

Klaus thanks Elena for killing Mikael but this isn't the first time she killed an original, there was Elijah.   Klaus says she's always one step ahead of them and just a minute ago, Tyler said he's always two steps ahead.   Damon arrives and Tyler used vervain on Caroline.   Tyler can't fight his compulsion, he has to protect Klaus.   Damon and Tyler fight and Bonnie stops them.   Bonnie wasn't supposed to 'witchy' him.   Damon was the only one who could get in the house with the stake.

Mikael tells Klaus the hybrids can't kill him.   Klaus hasn't changed, he' still a coward hiding behind his 'playthings.'  He can still compel them.   Mikael threatens to kill Elena, there'll be no more hybrids if she dies.   Klaus has no one other than those he forced into loyalty.   Mikael stabs Elena yet again, only surprise, surprise, or not, it's actually Katherine.   Damon attacks Klaus and Stefan stops Damon, thus allowing Klaus to kill Mikael with the stake and he burns.   Klaus gives Stefan his freedom.

Caroline wouldn't have left the party if she knew her friends were there for Klaus.   Tyler says he can't be fixed but he's fine with that  and he won't turn unless he wants to.   The full moon controlled him, yes, but now Klaus controls him, so which is the worst of two evils?   Caroline won't turn her back on him now, no, she might get stabbed in the back if she does.   Damon was prepared for all of it and Katherine's run away.   They had Klaus and it would have been over, they're not getting Stefan back now.   Elena suggests they'll just have to let him go then.   Katherine calls Damon to say goodbye.   She is really willing to give up on Stefan so easily now, well putting aside she's got Damon now.

Stefan tells Katherine that Damon doesn't need to know where it went wrong.   Katherine was at the house when Stefan woke up and gave him blood.   Klaus told Katherine that if he dies then Damon dies too.   Katherine was hoping Stefan would stop Damon.   Katherine tells Stefan to "care enough to save Damon's life." So Stefan foiled their plan to save Damon's life, yet again.   Katherine wanted to save Stefan and Damon's life and more talk about each other's humanity.   She wanted Stefan to get his humanity back cos she liked the old Stefan better.   She loves Damon and Stefan.   Sometimes she lets her humanity come back, but Stefan doesn't want to.   Katherine wants Stefan to get  angry.   Stefan calls Klaus to thank him for his freedom, Klaus took everything from Stefan and he tells Klaus "revenge never gets old."  Klaus will never see his family again.   Stefan: Klaus was always ahead of everyone for a thousand tears, "Was he prepared for this?"

Another episode with lots of twists which weren't that difficult to follow, after three seasons, that's come to be expected and we'd want nothing else from this show.   Though Katherine turns up out of nowhere to play Elena again, but no mention of where she's been hiding, especially since Klaus hadn't even returned to town yet and neither had Mikael.   The only thing on Caroline's mind was Tyler being able to throw a better party than her planned homecoming - oh and before I forget, Rebekah not being able to attend her first homecoming was funny, no it was.

 Don't have any sympathy for Rebekah.   Kind of poetic justice for her with everything she and Klaus have done over the centuries, she doesn't really deserve to go.  If push comes to shove; or backstabbing; don't think she'd have gone through Klaus being killed and especially not by Mikael.   He may be their father, but he's her brother and they've been there for each other through it all.   Besides it was obvious when she told Mikael she blames him for what they are: killers and vampires.   Although she doesn't hold the same feelings for dear mama, whose necklace she was willing to wear.   Mother bears some responsibility for them being who they are as well and for Klaus being part werewolf.

So where was I - ah the party.   Tyler only made it a better do than Caroline cos of Klaus and Tyler's under his compulsion so Caroline really didn't have anything to worry about, aside from not being kept in the loop about what her friends had planned.   Tyler was grateful for being sired by Klaus as he no longer has to change during a full moon, into a werewolf that is, and it's his choice whether he turns or not.   Caroline referring to Rebekah as an "evil blood slut" was also hilarious.

It seemed like an interesting and foolproof plan; Get Mikael to kill Klaus, get Stefan back, but nothing's that simple on this show, as Damon said, that was too easy when they lured Klaus back.   Being left to Stefan to spell it out again: their plans never work and this was no exception.   Pity no one can get that into their heads.   Yet Stefan went along since he wanted his freedom from Klaus and as he told Damon last time - it was so he can leave Mystic Falls.   Funny it was Katherine who talked about Stefan's humanity at the end; and her own, how she uses it sometimes.   But more so ironically, it was Katherine who instilled the thought of revenge into Stefan.   Probably having an ulterior motive in Stefan being the one to torment Klaus and exacting revenge on him for her.   Well she was after Klaus to be killed for five hundred years, she wasn't just going to let him get away.

Also mentioned again that it was Elena who killed Elijah, an original vampire, as she had to kill Mikael this episode in order for him to appear dead to Klaus.   A bit far fetched since he was brought back anyway, only for Klaus to kill him too, just as he killed their mother.  Mikael wasn't much of a vampire hunter when it came down to his own family.   He also didn't want Rebekah dead after all she's done with Klaus, why let her off, as I said last episode, he wasn't too overly concerned about her.   Think the writers were saving Katherine as a bit of a secret weapon and a surprise for us that only Damon knew about.   Thus his line about having a secret plan and not telling Elena.

Yet no one really trusted anyone  (aside from Damon and Elena to a point) since there was room for plenty of betrayal on everyone's part, especially Mikael, Stefan and Rebekah.   Mikael stabbing Elena to lure Klaus out , wouldn't it have better served its purpose if Mikael had been invited in beforehand.   Let's face it Katherine had to have been an Elena substitute as we couldn't have her being killed again, that'd be too same old, same old.   So Klaus was telling Katherine that Damon wouldn't survive, causing her to come up with her own plan.   Oddly enough Katherine's plan succeeded.   So Stefan's "humanity" led him to saving Damon once more.   But Damon is oblivious to this (at least for now) and Damon believes Stefan betrayed him to let Klaus live.   But he should have known from last episode Stefan would do anything to save Damon.

For a painful second it looked like Elena and Damon would kiss, luckily they didn't but they did manage to get closer still, as Elena says if Stefan's gone they'll have to let him go.   It's Stefan's turn now to hold Klaus to ransom.   Mikael even brought Klaus to tears.  Elena: "It had to be done.   Rebekah was never going to be completely on our side."
Damon: "Hey I'm not judging you.   It's very Katherine of you."
Elena: "Not the way to make me feel better about myself Damon."
Damon: "It was a compliment, sort of."  Now if we'd have been thinking down this route (or were psychic) with Damon talking about Katherine, then we'd have realized she would be involved.   No vampire fix over Christmas, at the time of writing, but the show will return later and a lot later than January for some of us.

Desperate Housewives - 8.13: "Is This What You Call Love" Review

Bree continues to reach rock bottom. Julie returns home with a surprise, she's pregnant and wants to give her baby up for adoption. Lynette finally takes the plunge.

 Mary Alice: "Being in love can bring out the worst in people...they may become stingy - hostile - or simply indifferent.   But in the beginning when love is still a promise, people can bring their best to the table."

Frank (Patrick Fabian) had the best date of his life with Lynette (Felicity Huffman) and she suggests dessert at her place and gets the signals crossed since dessert means something else to him.   Lynette: "I was a total whore in college."  Mary Alice: "Yes the promise of love can bring out the best in us...unless we find that we're a little out of practice."

Mary Alice (Brenda Strong) "After a disaster every housewife has her own way of coping - some turn to drink, sweets, the people they trust the most."  Gaby (Eva Longoria) is surprised at Lynette jumping into bed with someone new and Susan (Teri Hatcher) asks if she likes him.   Gaby likens him to a car so she has to test drive him and Susan suggests she should get tips from Bree (Marcia Cross), she also worries about her.   Well at least she got that in too.   Bree brings home another man and claims not to know the women.

Juanita (Madison De la Garza) is decorating Valentine cupcakes instead of cards and asks about Carlos being on a business trip.   She likes Ryan from school and she goes for bad boys just like Gaby.   Susan is planning a cereal dinner for Julie (Andrea Bowen) so she got them all cos she can't remember which one she liked.   When Julie arrives she reveals she's pregnant.   The father left her and wants to adopt the baby out .   Susan isn't happy with that.

Ryan ate the cupcake but didn't give her a card in return.   Gaby thinks it may be in her backpack and writes her a card with chocolate.   She shouldn't call Ryan as it would spoil their relationship.   Julie's invited the prospective adoptive couple over for dinner and Susan talks to them alone calling Julie a jailbird, with mental illness and the doctor finally got her meds right.   Susan wants her grandchild.   Julie tells her some harsh home truths about having to sleep in her bed cos she was upset over Karl, Julie gave them breakfast cereal cos Susan wouldn't cook.   That's why she doesn't want this baby on her own cos  "I already raised a child.   You."  Claws were out.

Juanita stares at Ryan in school and kisses him.  Gaby is called in to Principal Hobson's (John Rubenstein) office who accuses her of sexual harassment.   Gaby calls it a crush and he's not a "presidential hopeful."  Ryan cried for forty minutes.   Gaby calls him a snitch and a crybaby (I was going to say the cry baby part, but rather Gaby than me).   He threatens to expel her if she looks at Ryan.

Bree is on another pick up at the bar, Jerry.   She doesn't recall him from two nights ago.   She's watched outside and I know that's Orson.   Mike (James Denton) tells Julie she was hard on her mother and she didn't tell him she was upset, cos she was hurt.  She does everything out of love, which is a good flaw in a mother.   Gaby says Juanita's her daughter as she thinks the kiss would lead to marriage and he'd buy her presents.   Gaby sent the Valentine and Juanita doesn't like how she always lies to her.   She's not a child anymore.

Susan would do all this again since Julie's the best thing in her life.   What happened to MJ?   Julie's having a girl.   Lynette  wants the lights off with Frank, but he wants them on.   She leaves a message for Renee (Vanessa Williams) in which she grunted.  She doesn't want to talk about it.   She cried during sex and realizes her marriage is over.   Renee thinks that's good cos she can now move on.   Renee also lets slip about taking Bree out drinking.   Lynette didn't know that.   Gaby reminds them they're not talking to her.   Susan misses everyone and they should help her.   Gaby's funny line about Bree and her "loose morals, booze and swearing."  So it's already too late to save Bree.

Bree admits she tried to kill herself and was in that motel room cos of them.   They wanted a leader but then when she was in trouble no one was there but they blamed her.   Frank brings pizza cos he likes Lynette.   Lynette: "...weird to say frankly when your name is Frank." She needs time.   Bree finds herself being harassed by a sleazy lowlife and when he tries to attack her, Orson (Kyle MacLachlan) tazers him.

Mary Alice: "Yes love can bring out the best in us, the confidence to move on - the courage to tell the truth, strength to keep hoping, but sometimes what surprises us most isn't who love brings out but who it brings back."  A return to the norm this episode as we get one based on what the show is all about, dilemmas concerning the women, even though men are mentioned, it's about the women's lives.   Gaby dealing with Juanita in her usual way, still making things worse when she decides to take matters into her own hands making a card for Juanita and then having to see the principal again.   Last time she was in school she ended up acting president of the PTA.   Take to she's over that now.

Lynette finally moved on with plenty of teething problems in her new relationship, but don't think it's the end of the marriage with Tom.   Also had her line about how she's thought of other people when she was with Tom but wouldn't actually contemplate sex with a stranger.   Something Bree's had plenty of practice with and after all this time they finally manage to think of Bree.   That was too little, too late and not being able to handle Bree themselves, they call in Orson.   At least that's what he said and he was happy to oblige probably cos he's the one watching her all this time and so he must have sent the note and ran Vance over.   Well it's Orson's MO.

Julie still boring, let's rip at Susan being a lousy mother.   Well she's doing the same with adopting out her unborn daughter and she's not even a mother yet, in the true sense of the word.   What a quitter.   Lynette apologizing for once - didn't see that coming, ha.   Renee not so much wallowing and she hasn't told Lynette about her predicament with Ben.

All about mothers and daughters: Susan and Julie, Gaby and Juanita and she finally takes her to visit Carlos in rehab.   Bree and her intervention - where she told them the truth and it hurt - not as much as they hurt her collectively and exiled her to a lonely fate.  On the subject of adoptions; Deidre gave her son, Zach to Mary Alice and Gaby and Carlos were going to adopt Lily, Libby Collins' baby in season 2.   Which also had a Frank character.

How could the school accuse Juanita  of sexual harassment?  How old is she, 9 - not 19!  Susan cooking was no surprise as she couldn't throw a meal together in earlier seasons, but she cooked for Paul last season.  She must be a fast learner.   Everyone's calling Orson a superhero?  This episode title is from a Stephen Sondheim song of the same name from the musical Passions.

NCIS - 7.6: "Outlaws and In-Laws" Review

Gibbs' boat is found with two DBs inside and the trail leads back to Mike Franks. Can the agents clear his name and get to the bottom of who is after him and his daughter-in-law.

A sail boat, named 'Kelly'  is found with two DBs inside.   Tony (Michael Weatherly) and McGee (Sean Murray) chance upon Ziva (Cote de Pablo) asleep at her desk.   Tony has teasing on the mind, as usual and McGee thinks it could be a trap, Ziva's way of inviting them to mess with her.   Tony asks what sort of man he'd be if he turned down the invitation.   Gibbs (Mark Harmon) flew out with Vance (Rocky Carroll) and Ducky (David McCallum) to San Diego harbour.   Ziva wakes up with a bit of paper stuck to her cheek and reckons they call that hazing.   She needs to know the Bill of Rights to become an American citizen.   Ziva needs to be a citizen to become an agent.   Actually you have to be born there, not just be a citizen, cos anyone can become a citizen.  

Tony: "Who says we want her as an American?"  He's always coming up with something like that.    About differences in their respective countries etc, which tends to be funny.   Ziva asks him who says Tony has a say in this.   Tony refers to the Constitution and in particular to "dangerous foreign aliens, "stealing our bodily fluids." McGee tells Tony that's the movie, Dr Strangelove (1964)  hey McGee actually knowing a movie for a change, ha.

Tony mentions the sixteenth Amendment, to which Ziva replies, taxes.   He wonders if she's learning through osmosis and then what we were waiting for, Tony's reference to the American Dream, or rather, his version:  "white male between the ages of 18-49 with a loud mouth and a gun.   I am the American dream."  Yes he is.   The phone rings.   McGee: "Oh thank God!"

Ducky doesn't find any ID on the DBs, they came from the South.   Vance asks Gibbs if he knows any Vikings in Mexico.   Ducky mentions Gibbs going on a vacation to Mexico with the boat.   The boat was a gift for Gibbs' goddaughter, Amira.   Mike Franks (Muse Watson) is missing.   Gibbs' basement is now devoid of any boats.   He probably no longer has the time, what with all these DBs popping up.   The DBs were in the water for 30 days.   Vance comments they had military backgrounds and they're looking for Mike.   Vance refers to this as Gibbs' mess: his boat, his friend.   Ducky surmises they were shot at close range and brings up the OK Corral.   He's not comfortable with Mike's psychological make-up.   Gibbs asks Ducky if he has something against cowboys.   Wyatt Earp was friends with Doc Holliday.   Ducky: "There's a fine line between cowboys and outlaws." Some thought went into the killings of the two and the CS was staged.   They were dragged onto the boat intentionally.

Abby (Pauley Perrette) will take care in her processing of "craftmanship" the boat.   There was a gunfight on board and she found slugs.   .22 grazed the portside, below the waterline.   Gibbs tells her the boat wasn't in the water during the shootout and she should take the boat apart.   Tony wonders why the DBs were after Mike.   Then states the greatest ideas in history started off as jokes, the spork, moon rings, all made their creators trillionaires.   Ziva doesn't ask what a spork is, but since she's adept in deadly weapons, she probably knows what that is.   Then again with the amount of eating Tony does, he's probably used it one time or another.   Then Tony refers to capitalist democracy, having no brain, hope or prospects and then tomorrow, you may win the lottery, "tomorrow you might slip on the right driveway."  Annie's Song from  Little Orphan Annie.   Gibbs tells them to find a connection between the DBs and Mike.

Layla (Tehima Sunny) , and Amira, Gibbs' goddaughter arrives at his house.   Mike is behind them.   Gibbs wants to know if Mike shot them.   Mike was hoping he could tell him.   Men were asking about him in Mexico but he's never seen them before.   The men had to be investigated by Gibbs, who thanks him for the honour.   Mike says not all of the shoot-outs in the past were his fault.   (Especially not the one in the season 5 episode Judgment Day 1 when Jenny (Lauren Holly) was killed.)  Gibbs thinks it's "time to hang up your spurs."  Mike will know when that time comes cos he'll be dead.   Mike threatens to leave his family to keep them safe.   When his son, Liam died, he made a promise to protect his family.   Always expect a shoot-out when Mike's around.

The two DBs were Private Military Contractors (PMC).   They had problems with authority and were working for a Col.  Merton Bell (Robert Patrick) a PMC operating in the Middle East.   Vance tells Gibbs Mike wasn't alone on the beach, there was a woman with him.   Vance doesn't want Gibbs looking into Bell as he knows him and Gibbs' approach lacks "finesse." Vance is worried that Gibbs is too transparent as he knows who killed the two.   Tony and Ziva are sent to protect the family.   Tony asks why he should knock as there's no lock on the door.   Mike replies there's no lock cos on the other side of the door, there's someone with a gun.   Tony to Mike: "Have a mint," whilst he stands in front of the door with his gun, sarcastically.  

Bell tells them Canaan and Blanchard met with tribal leaders and Gibbs asks if they were good at their jobs.   Bell's men are outstanding.   Gibbs tells him the US Armed Forces disagree.   His men have a history of violence and mental problems.   They accepted the contract not on Mike, but on Layla.   Mike was the only lead Layla's family had on her.   Gibbs was there when Layla arrived, her family disowned her as she was pregnant.   Her mother, Shada Shakarki (Diana Venora) is a leader and is vindictive.   The boat was used as a decoy.   Mike went in with guns drawn and shot them three more times for good measure.   He emptied his magazine in self-defence.   Vance hopes the evidence confirms this.  

Abby tells the others she's keeping notes of where all the pieces of the boat go, so she can put it back together.   She found a secret box with a gun.   McGee says Mike keeps a gun everywhere, it took them 20 minutes to get through security.   Tony's in Gibbs' basement and Abby suggests he should check the walls for seams, whether they're removable or if there's a tunnel.   Tony mentions Col.  Hogan (of Hogan's Heroes) and tells her there's a radio in the coffee pot.   McGee says there's another shooter.   Ziva says hard choices were made, sometimes there are no choices in significant decisions; Layla left her home.   She fell in love and the right reasons made it easier to leave.   Tony lets it be known that Ziva is also building her life over.   Layla was inside when shots were fired at the men and she was the one who shot at them.

McGee finds Shakarki has many enemies.   Ducky uses the phone; he's not avoiding Mike but looking for Gibbs.   Ducky comments on Gibbs' history with Mike and how it's having a blinding effect on his investigation.   Mike is lying to them.   The DBs were shot in a straight-down direction.   Gibbs infers they were shot with a .22 long rifle.   Then Mike shot through their original wounds.   Gibbs thinks Mike feels it's his fault and he failed to protect them.   McGee realizes Shakarki  is on her way to the US and for someone with her reputation, she was allowed into the US and cleared through customs very quickly and easily.   Vance is angry Mike lied.   He's just protecting his family, something both Vance and Gibbs have been through.   Vance suggests Mike should work it out with his in-laws.   She's been tracking Mike's movements.   Mike never hits a woman but he's finding it hard to believe she's a woman.   He hid her family.   Things change and she has lost too much family.   Amira is her blood and she wants to rescue them from Mike.

Actually for some reason Shakarki reminded me of Ziva.   When she hired the men she was assured there wouldn't be any violence.   Mike didn't fire the first shot.   He was playing with Amira; Layla shot them.   He taught her to shoot.   They are safer with him.   She made payment to Bell so the contract will be completed.   Gibbs' house is raided by Bell's men and Ziva recognizes one of them.   Small world, Ziva seems to know practically lots of marines!  Damon Werth (Paul Telfer) was dishonourably discharged.   He quits working for Bell.   Tony says he's wacky cos of the flashbang Bell's men threw.   Gibbs tells Bell he hasn't broken any US laws, but bounty hunting is illegal down Mexico way, Okay I said this, Gibbs said South of the border and he should tell his men to get a haircut.

Gibbs tells Vance the story of his grandparents.   30 years after the civil war - as his great, great grandfather and grandmother fought on opposite sides and they couldn't look at each other; but they lived together.   Everyday they sat on the front porch in their rocking chairs and they never said a word.   Just like Mike and Shakarki.

An episode very much about family and its importance.   With plenty of references to cowboys, being the outlaws, and in-laws too.  Gibbs and Mike have much in common,  family, dead children.   There are always ambiguities in a case whenever Gibbs and Mike get together.   As in season 4 Iceman episode, when they found Layla and Liam was killed.   When Mike got away with killing the men who killed his son.   Just as the same thing happened to Gibbs and his family, he also got revenge on their killer.   Mike and Vance have a volatile relationship.

Layla was disowned not only because she was pregnant but that she wasn't married and was pregnant, she was described as Liam's fiance in the season 4 episode Iceman.   Also at the end of the episode, the baby Layla is holding is a blond-haired boy.   Who has miraculously turned into a dark haired girl called Amira.   Mike had a grandson back then.   Suppose the producers wanted the baby to be a girl for the purposes of season 7.

Did Abby discover how Gibbs got his boat out of his basement then.   Did he take it apart in sections as she found that's how it was built.   We didn't get to know one way or the other.   Damon Werth was first introduced in the season 5.10 episode Corporal Punishment and will return later in the season.   When Werth enters Gibbs' house and Tony recognizes him, watch him point to his nose, a gesture to remind us he broke Tony's nose in that season 5 episode.

Doctor Who - 5.3: "Victory of the Daleks" Review

Winston Churchill calls upon the Doctor for help and shows him his new secret weapon, known as Ironsides, but they're really Daleks and the Doctor plays right into their hands.

Cabinet War Rooms controlling air squadrons and Churchill (Ian McNeice) deems it time to "roll out the secret weapon."  Daleks.   Churchill is always after the TARDIS key.   He comments the Doctor's (Matt Smith) face has changed.   He's had some work done lately.   Churchill called him a month ago.   Amy's ( Karen Gillan) finally lost her pyjamas.   Churchill will do anything to win the Nazis and introduces Professer Bracewell (Bill Paterson).   This set looked like the one of wartime London with Rose.  (Billy Piper) This is history.  The Dalek (Nicholas Briggs) in, khahki paint, attacks the German planes.  Claiming: "I am your soldier." This is one of Bracewell's Ironsides.   But who are they kidding, they're fooling no one, the Daleks always know their mortal enemy, the Doctor.

The Dalek claims not to know who the Doctor is.  He tells them Bracewell didn't invent the Daleks.  The Dalek claims their objective is to "win the war." Yes, but not the Second World War, their true agenda is to win the war against the Doctor once and for all.  Doctor: "they're alien...totally hostile" and he demands they be destroyed.  The Daleks watch the Doctor's every move.   He wants Amy to tell them about the Dalek's invasion of Earth, but she doesn't recall ever seeing them before.  The Doctor is certain they're up to something.   Amy questions their motive.    The Dalek was a sinister looking menace.   The Doctor reiterates what he already knows of them, having no "conscience, mercy or pity...they're my oldest and deadliest enemy.  Hate looks like a Dalek" and he'll prove it.  Bracewell is positive he controls them all.   The Doctor insists the Daleks can't be trusted and loses his temper; questioning which war the Daleks want to win? "The war against all life forms."

The Doctor attacks the Dalek in an efforet to make it fight back, little realizing that's exactly what they want him to do.  "You are my enemy and I am yours." He despises them.   Doctor: "I defeated you time and time again.   I am the Doctor and you are the Daleks.  The Dalek speaks: "review testimony."  Then transmits the Testimony to the mothership.   They had him fall for that one, looking for the Doctor.   The Daleks are beamed aboard the mothership.  Doctor: "I was their plan." He goes after them in the TARDIS.   Phase 2 begins.   Amy is concerned he's on the mothership in the midst of it all.

All power is transferred to the Progenitor.   The final phase begins.   The Doctor threatens the Daleks with a Jammie Dodger: it's the self-destruct key to the TARDIS.   The Dalek explains the progenitor is "their past and their future."  Containing pure Dalek DNA.   The Daleks built Bracewell.   The Progenitor didn't recognize Dalek DNA, but it did recognize the Doctor and accepted his word, his "testimony."  But this Doctor was new, so they had to be sure they had the right Doctor.   They light up London, allowing it to be bombed.   Amy is adament they need to fight the Daleks and their weapon is a gift from the Daleks.   The Doctor still threatens them with self-destruct and their greatest victory would be to leave.   He's determined not to let them get away.   New Daleks emerge from the Progenitor: new brightly-multi-coloured Daleks, like Fruit Pastilles.   Their new destiny: the resurrection of the Master race.   (Obsessed with the master race just as Hitler was and to think they were meant to be helping to fight him!)

Bracewell has memories and Amy is sure only he can help, he's alien technology like the Daleks.   Bracewell suggests sending something into space through the gravity bubble.   The new Master race of Daleks extermintes the old ones, they've served their purpose.  Doctor: "What do you do to the ones that mess up?" They must exterminate the Doctor, who warns, "don't mess with me, sweetheart!"  The Spitfires have the coordinates of the mothership and attack it.   Lead by Danny Boy.   Doctor: "It's a Jammie Dodger, but I was promised tea."  He didn't want any tea from the Dalek, he was too busy riling it up and himself along with it.   He tells the planes to blow the dish on the ship's side but the shield holds.   The Doctor can disrupt the shield for a few seconds.   Didn't think the Daleks would let him enter the TARDIS.

The Doctor orders them to destroy the ship and the Daleks threaten to destroy the Earth.   Bracewell is a bomb.   The Oblivion Continium gives him the power.   The Doctor rues this was his only chance to destroy them for good.    If he lets the Daleks go the new race will be stronger.   He must choose.   Plenty of choices for the Doctor again, just as in the episode before, Amy made the choice for him, which he bereated her for doing.   Now it's his decision once more.   The Dalek tells him his "greatest compassion is his greatest weakness."

The Doctor arrives back on Earth and wants Bracewell to prove he's human, he can't explode the bomb because he's human.   Amy interjects that he fancies someone he shouldn't.   He recalls Dorabella and the bomb finally deactivates.   The Daleks jump the time continium and escape.   Sadly they won't be featured in anymore episodes in season 6 and the foreseeable future, as Stephen Moffat doesn't want them in anymore storylines.   Which is a shame after we got new ones.  So enjoy them while they last, like a mouth-watering Fruit Pastille they won't be around for long! The Doctor is saddened as they knew he'd choose to save Earth and so they won.   Amy tells him the Doctor saved Earth, but he's always saving Earth, with a little help.   Churchill wants the Doctor to help him, but the Doctor tells him the world has Churchill.   Amy notices him take the TARDIS key.  The Doctor gives Bracewell time to leave before he's deactivated.

Everyone has enemies the Doctor tells Amy, it's dangerous being with him.   He always worries about the Daleks, well no more worries there then.   What's wrong is that Amy should have known about the Daleks but she doesn't.   Suggesting all the past history between the Doctor on Earth and the Daleks never happened.  The crack from Amy's bedroom wall is visible behind the wall where the TARDIS landed.

Where did the Daleks get the 'pure DNA' and more importantly who does it belong to? This new Doctor's portrayal in meeting the Daleks seems to be one of despair, having to deal with them over and then they manage to escape by holding Earth to ransom once more.   Just when he's close to defeating them for good.   Matt Smith really has come into his own now with his believable reactions of anger on the one hand, to comical and compassionate the next, in the never-ending realm of choices he's forever faced with.  great choice for the Doctor to be played by him.  Again it's Amy who saves the day as she does.

When the Doctor alludes to Amy not recalling the Daleks on Earth, he's referring to past episodes, The Stolen Earth and Journey's End.  The Daleks being slaves of humans was done in Power of the Daleks, where they uttered, "I am your servant." Wanting to see the Daleks destroyed was also said by the Doctor in Evil of the Daleks.   The call-sign used between control and the Spit fires, "Broadsword to Danny Boy" was from the movie Where Eagles Dare (1968).

Supernatural - 6.14: "Mannequin 3: The Reckoning" Review

Dean tries desperately to ensure Sam is well, as their current case leads them to mannequins and blow-up sex dolls. Lots of jokes but mostly this episode seemed like it was all done before and much better in the past.
Dean (Jensen Ackles) attempts to wake up Sam (Jared Padalecki).

Great Falls Junior college, Paterson, New Jersey  a janitor is killed by an anatomy dummy.   Dean offers pills to Sam but he doesn't want them.   He felt like he was out for a week but he doesn't want to talk about it, taking another page out of Dean's book.  He's okay.   Dean tells him it was hell and Sam could have died.   Dean adds the past belongs in the past and Sam's meant to ignore it.   Violence and alcohol may work for Dean, but his life's on the line.

They investigate the janitor, Steve's (Nicholas Carella) murder and Dean is preoccupied by the dummy, out he comes with the jokes, "Be my Valentine, have a heart."  He also smells sulphur and Sam has to point out they're in  a lab.   Lisa (Cindy Sampson) calls.  There's mention of Dr Laura and Ghosts Gone Wild.   Sam picks up a strange EMF reading from said anatomy dummy. The video from the lab doesn't help them and Sam tells Dean about Steve who appeared to be a model guy (no pun intended by use of the word model!)  He rubbed his girlfriend's feet whilst watching Glee.   Dean comments he just threw up in his mouth.   Also mentions Kermit.

They then check out the killing of a security guard.  Dave (Jorge Vargas) at a mannequin warehouse, obviously the mannequin did it.   As they don their suits once more.   Could almost get a joke here with mannequins and suits, oh never mind.   Sam gets another EMF reading, this time from the mannequin and mentions the "Anatomy dummy you were molesting at the lab" gave him the same reading.   References to Chucky and Dean thinks it creepy. "I don't like the way Kim Cattrall's looking at me."

Isabel (Rosalie Ward) tells them her sister Rose (Christina Sicoli) went missing a year ago and Dean thinks a vengeful spirit may be involved.   Lisa's phone rings again and it's Ben (Nicholas Elia) on the other end.   He claims she's locked herself in her room and won't come out or take calls.   Sam tells him he had to deal with his year and so must Dean.   Rose was shy and an easy target, but she did more for Isabel than anyone else.   That was a clue.   The two DBs are in the photo she has and they all work at the factory.   Steve quit after Rose disappeared.

Dean goes to see Lisa and Sam questions the factory workers, one gets nervous.   Jonny (Jake Richardson) insists there's nothing wrong.   Lisa opens the door dressed for a date and Dean posits they've been Parent Trap-ed.   She doesn't want anything from Dean and Dean tells her she should ask for something.   She just wants to move on.   Jonny feels a cut on his head and Sam returns to save him.   He places salt around the doors and windows and ensures Jonny stays inside the salt circle.   Rose is back and Sam asks what he did to her.   He, Dave and Steve set her up on a blind date with a dummy and made her think she had a secret admirer.   She hit her head on the table and they buried her.   It was Steve's fault and Jonny wanted to call for help.  Hey if Sam didn't have a soul he'd have thought it funny too.

Sam burns her bones.   Dean knows no matter how much you love someone you can't stay to hurt them.   If he stays Ben will become like him and he's not someone Ben should be.   In a role reversal Dean is the one who now gets a called a 'dick.'  He's walking out on his family, but Sam is his family.   Sam calls Jonny to return home and he lives near the bar where Isabel arrives.  As we get flashes to Dean's year with Lisa and Ben.   Jonny has a blow up sex doll and is killed, and he had the audacity to be part of the joke they played on Rose.

Isabel was also at the college and the bar so Sam makes the connection that it has something to do with her.   She has Rose's kidney, which is the point she made about Rose being the only one who did anything for her.   She has a haunted kidney and Dean suggests they call Dr Robert.   Sam thinks otherwise and suggests hoodoo.   Dean leaves the impala behind and Rose possessed the sex doll.   Dean: "This is not a sex doll, you leave my baby alone." As his beloved possessed baby gives chase to him.   That's the second time his baby has been possessed by a spirit.   It was taken over by Constance, the woman in white  in the pilot episode and chased them, both having to jump the bridge to escape.   The Impala crashes into a shop window and Isabel gets glass in her, so the possessions over and Rose is sorry.   Yeah, she gave her the kidney to save her life and then she's the one who snatches it away from Isabel.   How did Isabel end up where she did anyway?

Not another Rose who was possessed, there was a Rose in 2.11 Play Things.   Dean fixes the Impala again, "carjacked by a Poltergeist." Dean says an innocent was killed and Sam adds they save lives now and then.   Sam: "Satan's left the building."  He has a soul cos of Dean and he'd have done the same for him, is what Dean can say.   Which is all they do for each other really.  Since season 2.   The same way Rose gave her kidney to save her sister Isabel, parallels can be drawn with Sam and Dean, two brothers always saving each other.   It's like a continuing cycle or catch 22.   Sam has Dean's back.   Sam also used to say over the seasons that they can't save everyone all the time, all they can do is try.  

As Lisa is shown quite a bit now, there's no moving on from her for a reason.   Have to say the title of this episode didn't live up to much of a reckoning, not even for Sam judging what happened to him at the close of last episode.   Just another ghost getting even and taking her sister out in the process too, even if that wasn't her intention.   2.11 was all about hoodoo and creepy dolls, as Dean referred to them.

Lisa and Ben are getting tedious, and they appeared to be included just so Sam can get his line in about having to deal with his year and Dean must do the same.   Dean being different as he can recall hos past but Sam's not meant to.   Yes, Dean remembers all and he shouldn't have to either, especially since they said their goodbyes and moved on, or at least were meant to forget each other.   Which is what Lisa was doing, but Dean in opposite of chick mode wasn't dealing with it at all.   Well usually the chick is portrayed as having all the relationship issues and hated the way it was brought down on Dean, that he was the sole reason for their not being able to have a life together.

Does Dean deep down somewhere, kind of regret Sam coming back cos that sort of wrecked havoc on his life?   Not that Dean would ever have such feelings; as they both live (and die) for each other; but Sam had to make an appearance cos of the Djinns in 6.1 Exile on Main Street.   Then it has to be asked, whose fault was that?  Samuel's, the Campbell clan for hunting them.   Don't think they would have tracked Dean down otherwise, or would they have, especially since the female Djinn told Dean he killed her father?

Dean's reference to 'Snooki' was about Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi from Jersey Shore.   Dr Laura is Laura Schlessinger who had a radio talk show and expressed her right wing opinions.   It's mentioned here how Dean turns to violence and alcohol to deal with his problems, in 2.11, it was Sam who got drunk to escape what he may one day become.   Then he shares a beer with Dean at the end of this episode.   Sam also took the Impala in the episode Changing Channels, as well as Andy in Simon Said.

Smallville - 10.10: "Luthor" Review

Clark finds himself in an alternate universe where he's Lionel Luthor's son, Lex is dead and everyone knows Tess is Lionel's daughter. Lois and Oliver hate Clark and everyone else hates Oliver.

Tess (Cassidy Freeman) receives a box, which turns out to be some sort of a Kryptonian relic with a symbol, but one with powers.   Clark (Tom Welling) calls her for help and meets Tess at Cadmus Labs.   Apparently the Lex clone has escaped from the lab, but how did Clark know this; as it's not explained.   He opens the lead lined door, only to find it empty.  Clark realizes Tess was harbouring Lex (Alexander) as he's left a note behind for her.    Tess drops her bag and Clark asks why Tess lied to him and Oliver (Justin Hartley) after everything they did for her.    Tess admits she was going to come clean about the Kryptonian symbol artifact.   Clark twists the box and disappears to find himself in a parallel/alternate reality; waking up with two bimbos.

He's Clark Luthor and Lionel (Julian Glover) quotes Marcus Aurelius, calling Clark "son."  Just like he used to call Lex.   Clark's alter ego in this reality is "Ultraman," with his symbol being inverted (obviously since he's in a parallel universe, the mirror image is reversed.)  Lionel raised him in his image and he was lucky Luthor was the one who came across the traveller (referring to Clark) than the first farmer that came along; putting down to the Kent's.   Clark high tails it to the farm to find an auction notice and the farm deserted, aside from Tess, who has been waiting for him.   She and Clark have a thing.   Knew she had the hots for Clarkie, only it comes true here.   Clark finds out in this reality that Tess is Lionel's daughter and she admits freely she's his "bastard" child.   Why did Lionel choose to call him Clark and not some name beginning with 'L'.

Clark tells her he's not who she thinks he is and he used the "mirror box."   Assuming Tess knows all about the box, which she does.  Clark thinks he can return to his own reality, where Clark/Ultraman now resides.   Lois (Erica Durance) drives into Clark and he bends her fender, but fixes it before she's out of the car.   She and Oliver hate Clark and they're engaged.   In this reality Ultraman kills anyone who lays eyes on him.   Clark: "Lionel's turned me into a murderer."

The camera spins the symbols over and we get back to Clark's reality, where Ultraman has been transported.   Neat trick with the symbols as if to show Clark is in hell in that reality but this one will soon be that way if he can't get back.   Clark/Ultraman kisses Tess, who obliges, showing she does harbour some romantic notions for Clarkie.   Then she notices the scar on his arm with an 'L' realizing he's not really Clark.    Presumably no one noticed this Clark dons a ring.   He wants the box and he likes this world, which marks a refreshing change from Lionel not being here.   If he can destroy the box then he can't return.   She tells him Lex killed Lionel.   (In the episode Descent.) Clark says he did something right then.   He's not used to not having blood on his hands before lunch.

 Lois ignores Tess's call  Lois' credit card is refused at the coffee shop and the man in the queue passes his phone to her.   Tess is calling for a reason from Watchtower.   She can see anything anywhere with all the surveillance cameras around.   Tess is unable to round up the others.   Lois is safe from Clark at Watchtower.   Clark apparently knows about Watchtower too, we'll see later on how and tosses Lois aside.   Demands the box from Tess and threatens to kill her.   The other world belongs to Lionel but "this world will be mine."

Funnily enough as Clark is bad in this reality, he should be vulnerable to the Darkness taking him over, but no signs in this episode.  Tess in the alternate bad reality, breaks into Lionel's office and tears the page from the journal which contains info on the box.   Lionel sees through her and takes the page back.   He's aware of the coup she and Clark are planning and accuses Tess of corrupting Clark.   Tess replies he should look in the mirror.   Lionel calls her a half-breed tramp with a Magdalene complex and has her removed, before which she smashes the frame with Clark and Lionel's photo.

Clark arrives at the Fortress to speak with Jor-El but he and Lionel have silenced him.   This time Lionel talks King Lear and his three children.   How two lavished gifts upon him and the third  one said he loved him.   This child he hated because of this and this third child was meant to signify Lex.   Clark killed him.   Clark defends Tess saying she was looking for the box for him; whereas probably the bad Clark of this world would have turned her in and stabbed her in the back.   Lionel says the Queens had the box when Veritas was dissolved.

Oliver remains despondent, even in this reality, as no one likes him.   The party guests are only there for Lois.   She picked him out of everyone else cos he's a good man.   Oliver believes there's someone better than him out there.   Clark whooshes in and takes Lois.   He wants the box in exchange for her.   Lois doesn't like Clark/Ultraman as we know and she also repeats that no one lives who's seen his face.   Clark tells her she's brave, etc and misspells little words which she doesn't admit to when he catches her out.   Which should have shown Lois that this isn't 'their' Clark, since presumably they don't work together, even though he may have the paper.   Clark: "I promise I will never let this happen to us because I can't live in a world where you don't love me."  Ahh hankies out, blubb, blubb.   He meets Oliver for the box at their version of the Watchtower building.

 Oliver has set a trap for Clark, he waited years to get him here since the Swanns died (and lo and behold the same thing was happening in his reality too.)  He comments Clark Luthor is a terrible name, did he look it up.   Oliver evicted farmers to mine the green Kryptonite (that's why he's disliked here) and had the trap set up.   He 's sorry a little since they could have saved the world together.   Lionel hits Oliver  and Clark thinks he's there to rescue him, but he has an ulterior motive.   He's going to prevent him from stabbing him in the back with Tess, as Tess said he would.

Lionel had the box all along.   Just as Clark's about to meet his doom, Oliver turns off the Kryptonite.   Oliver realizes he's the good one and Clark says they do save the world together.   Oliver needs to turn on the Kryptonite as soon as the other Clark appears.   Just as Clark is about to leave, Lionel rushes behind up, being transported to his reality with Clark.

Lois, Oliver and Tess hold Kryptonite weapons on Clark and he tells them it's him.   He has to turn to Lois once more to convince them it's really him.   Tess didn't tell them about Alexander cos she didn't want him taken from her, but he fooled her.   He's much smarter than Lex ever was.   Clark admits he was wrong about her and Lionel, it's not his blood that corrupts, but the man himself.   Tess is lucky she grew up without him.   Tess is upset he threw her away and didn't want anything to do with her.

Lionel buys a paper and mingles into the crowd with the other umbrellas.   You see everyone in Metropolis carry the same black umbrellas.   Not only did Clark allow the Darkness through the portal, but he now lets in Lionel too when he returns.   Wonder if Lionel will change Tess now and if she'll have anything to do with him, or be influenced by him, since she regrets the way he treated her and not knowing him as a father.

One question, where was Chloe (Allison Mack) in the alternate reality - surely she should have been there; but no so much as an utterance of her name.   Everything in this reality was clearly altered (should've got Dr Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) on the case, they had enough alternate realities in Stargate-SG1.   I jest.   I only said this as he returns in the next episode as Hawkman.)  Notice the portrait of the Mona Lisa is also reversed, she's facing to her left and not her right, in the scene where Clark and Lionel joust.

I liked this episode as it made a change from the usual episodes we've had, where Clark's been affected by the Kryptonite (all colours) and turned bad.   In this reality he's no good cos of Lionel and his upbringing.   So Clark should count himself lucky he was found by the first farmer that came along.   The lighting also reflected the darkness of this reality, the dismal nature of this world was cos of Lionel.   Lex killed Lionel in our Clarkie's reality and in the alternate reality, Clark has killed Lex.   Lionel turned Lex into a killer and here, he turns Clark into one; prompting Clark to realize Lionel the man is the sum total for all things being bad.

At least Lois and Oliver were still good in the alternate, even if she and Oliver were together, showing they were together in Clark's real world once upon a time.  and Oliver wishing for one brief moment they could be once more in season 9's Roulette episode.   Oliver evicting farmers to mine for Kryptonite is an allusion to Chloe stocking up on it last season, incase they had to use it on Clark, if he ever became corrupted or an uncontrollably mad Kryptonian with delusions of grandeur.   (Wait that was Zod (Callum Blue).   He wasn't  Kryptonian though, but Kandorian.)

The 'U' was for Ultraman as Lionel explained and in the comics, the 'U' in the upside down pentagram was representative of the evil Superman from a parallel Earth.   The 'U' symbolized it was all about him!  Ha.   Lionel tells Tess she has a Magdalene Complex, which means a woman who is attracted to beards.   But Clark doesn't have a beard and surely she can't be attracted to Lionel cos that's just wrong, so why did he say that to her.